Christmas in Japan 2022

 


It all made sense back in September when we decided not to buy plane tickets for Christmas. We decided to spend Christmas 2022 in Japan. We made some fun plans and we enjoyed seeing some pretty sights in Hakone - but it's just not the same as being home with the people you love. 

So, here are some beautiful pictures of our Christmas weekend, but we would trade them in a heartbeat for pictures of us with the Fam for Christmas! 

Dave and Susie Johnson had planned to be in Tokyo and spend Christmas with us, but due to a back injury Dave suffered they had to return to the US after only being in Japan one day. We hated to miss seeing them so when we found out they were leaving the next day, we dropped what we were doing and took the train into Tokyo to meet up with them. 

We all had a great time catching up on kids and all the other adventures in our lives over the past 5 years!






Since we already had an air bnb reserved in Hakone (planned to go with the Johnsons) we decided to go anyway. We found a few new things to do there. 

On Friday we hiked to the top of Mt Kintoki which gave us a great view of Mt. Fuji. It was a hard hike but worth the effort with beautiful "ice blooms" all along the trail. Dad thinks this is what happens when water seeps out of the side of the mountain and freezes as is flows out.









At the top there was a restroom with a very odd sign and an interesting pair of tongs...




Part of the trail was cut through a bamboo forest. 


On another part of the trail I took a picture of some trees that are surely going to fall soon. How can they hang on to the side of the hill like that?!



After our hike we drove to the Hotel Green Plaza to visit their day-use onsen. It was so relaxing after the hike and it had a perfect view of Mt Fuji. (no pictures haha)

That night we found only one restaurant open in town, but the food we ate there was delicious and the service was excellent. I love the way people in Japan take so much pride in giving good service and providing quality products. I ordered a "Japanese steak" and dad had curry.

The next day we visited Onshi Park. It sits on a small peninsula in Lake Ashinoko. The park surrounds the site of one of the Imperial palaces built in the late 1800s. What a view of....(I bet you can guess).... Mt. Fuji.  But really, such a gorgeous view!










There is a stand of 400 year old cedar trees that runs along the side of the lake. These trees were planted to give shade to travelers along the old road from Tokyo to Kyoto. 



We next visited Chisuji Falls. It is similar to the water fall we went to in Kyushu where the water is flowing out of the middle of the mountain rather than out of a river or stream. The interesting thing about this waterfall is that the water is hot - coming from a geothermal area.


We ate lunch at the Hakone Open Air Museum (Japanese buffet - love it!) and then headed to the Venetian Glass Museum. This museum has a combination of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Several Chihuly pieces along with many other Japanese artists. The highlight was that the glass sculptures outside were lit up once the sun set. Very festive!











I wish we would have remembered to take a picture on Christmas day, but we just didn't think of it. We opened gifts and took a nap (dad) and a walk (me) and then joined the Guisingers for a Christmas dinner and games. Merry Christmas 2022!

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